3. Let PeopleBot identify your file

Goal: have PeopleBot identify both versions of your greeting and show their contents. AI calls: none. Finish lesson 2 first. Keep using the outer tutorial folder containing .venv and practice-project.

1. Save a small helper

Open a plain-text editor, such as Notepad on Windows or Text Editor on Ubuntu. Create a new file and paste the complete code below. Save it in the outer tutorial folder as inspect_greeting.py. On Windows, select All files in Notepad’s Save dialog so the filename does not become inspect_greeting.py.txt. This is a Python file, not a Word document. You do not need to understand every line before running it.

import subprocess
from peoplebot import StateRef, resolve_state

checkout = "practice-project"
repository = "local:peoplebot-practice"


def git(*arguments):
    return subprocess.run(
        ["git", "-C", checkout, *arguments],
        check=True,
        capture_output=True,
        text=True,
        timeout=15,
    ).stdout.strip()


for label, saved_version in (("Latest", "HEAD"), ("Previous", "HEAD~1")):
    commit = git("rev-parse", saved_version)
    reference = StateRef(repository, commit, "welcome.txt")
    result = resolve_state(checkout, reference)
    print(f"{label} saved version")
    print(f"  Full commit: {reference.commit}")
    print(f"  File: {reference.path}")
    print(f"  Object type: {result.selected_type}")
    print(f"  Contents: {git('show', commit + ':welcome.txt')}")
    print()

The helper uses Git to turn “latest” and “previous” into full commit IDs. It then passes those exact IDs to PeopleBot. Git reads the displayed text; PeopleBot verifies which committed object the reference selects. local:peoplebot-practice is the label we have chosen for this local repository. It is not a web address, password, or instruction to upload the project.

2. Run it

Windows PowerShell:

.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe ./inspect_greeting.py

Linux:

./.venv/bin/python ./inspect_greeting.py

3. Check the result

You should see two sections:

Section	Contents	Object type
Latest saved version	`Hello from the updated project.`	`blob`
Previous saved version	`Hello from PeopleBot.`	`blob`

A blob is Git’s term for a stored file’s contents. The full commit codes will be long and different from one another. You do not need to memorize them; software records and reuses them. A PeopleBot State reference answers three questions: which repository, which saved version, and optionally which file? This is more precise than “use the latest file,” which can mean something different tomorrow.

If you get stuck

Python cannot open the helper: check its name and that it is beside practice-project, not inside it.
Python reports a syntax error: compare the saved code with the complete block, including indentation.
The previous version cannot be found: complete both commits in lesson 2.
“No module named peoplebot”: use the virtual environment’s Python shown above.

You have now used PeopleBot on your own local project. Next: choose what information reaches a task.

Start here

Beginner tutorials

How PeopleBot works

Agent work

Reference and help

3. Let PeopleBot identify your file

1. Save a small helper

2. Run it

3. Check the result

If you get stuck

​1. Save a small helper

​2. Run it

​3. Check the result

​If you get stuck

1. Save a small helper

2. Run it

3. Check the result

If you get stuck